The surface condition of a magnetic recording disk (a magnetic recording medium), which is mounted in a fixed magnetic recording device such as an external storage device for a computer, has a significant effect on both recording density and the reliability of the magnetic recording disk. If, for example, the friction coefficients are high for a magnetic recording disk surface and a recording head that engages in contact-start-stop (CSS) motion on the surface of the disk, the magnetic head will tend to stick to the magnetic recording disk surface, thus damaging the drive mechanism in the magnetic head and making the magnetic recording disk incapable of rotation. For this reason, a magnetic recording disk substrate has a special surface texture that is formed through tape-texture processing. This surface produces a large number of protrusions with a maximum roughness (R MAX) of about 800 .ANG. to prevent the magnetic head from sticking to the surface of the magnetic recording medium. In this case, the maximum cross angle between the textures formed on the surface of the magnetic recording disk is set to 10.degree. or lower.
However, in conventional magnetic recording disks with less than 100 MB of recording capacity (when converted to a 3.5" disk), it has been possible to use sliders made of Mn-Zn-ferrite as a magnetic head material. Further the cross angle between the textures can be made even lower than 10.degree. because a guaranteed levitation distance of about 0.08 .mu.m has sufficed to ensure CSS durability. However, as a guaranteed levitation distance of 0.06 .mu.m has become a necessity due to the use of higher recording density in magnetic recording disks, and as ceramic sliders made of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3. TiC are being increasingly adopted as a magnetic head material, CSS durability has become an important problem. Such a problem may be solved by increasing the maximum cross angle between the textures, but since the textures also help to strengthen magnetic orientation in the circumferential direction, an excessive increase in the maximum cross angle between the textures may decrease the strengthening effect, the squareness ratio, and the coercive force, resulting in a deterioration in the electromagnetic conversion characteristics.
Furthermore, the use of tape-texture processing on the surface of a magnetic recording disk cannot necessarily control the formation of the protrusions, and tends to produce abnormal protrusions that make it impossible to achieve a satisfactory floating distance for the magnetic head.